Information device, storage medium and initial state restoration method

ABSTRACT

An information device has a storage medium storing information items which includes a first program provided on a first partition, a second program and data provided on a second partition to restore the first program on the first partition to a predetermined state, a boot block which causes system activation from one of the first partition and the second partition, and an active-partition switching program which indicates, to the boot block, one of the first and second partitions. An input/output system activates the active-partition switching program when a specific operation is performed. The active-partition switching program indicates to the boot block that system activation is to be executed from the second partition.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromthe prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-081915, filed Mar. 22,2002, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an initial state restoration method ofrestoring a system in a storage medium of an information device to itsinitial state, the information device, and the storage medium.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the event that an information device, such as a personal computer,becomes disabled from being activated properly or comes to operateimproperly, there arises need of restoring a system (e.g. an OS) on aninternal storage medium (e.g., a hard disk drive) to its initial state.In that event, removable media, such as CD-ROM, is generally used torestore a system on a storage medium to its initial state.

That is, a boot program (e.g., an OS) and data for restoring a system toits initial state are previously stored on the media such as CD-ROM. Theinformation device is restored to its initial state by reading the mediainto the information device through its CD-ROM drive.

With the above conventional technique, however, in order to restore asystem to its initial state, it is required to use removable externalstorage media, such as CD-ROM, which has been previously stored withdata and a boot program for that purpose whenever need arises. Thus, theusers feel the procedure very cumbersome.

In addition, since it is impossible to know when and where need arisesto restore a system to its initial state, the users have to carry theexternal storage media with them all the time.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide an information device, astorage medium and an initial state restoration method, which permitrestoration of an internal system to its initial state.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided astorage medium which stores information items, the information itemscomprising a first program provided on a first partition; a secondprogram and data provided on a second partition to restore the firstprogram on the first partition to a predetermined state; a boot blockwhich causes system activation from one of the first partition and thesecond partition; and an active-partition switching program whichindicates, to the boot block, one of the first and second partitions.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan information device comprising a storage medium storing informationitems which includes a first program provided on a first partition, asecond program and data provided on a second partition to restore thefirst program on the first partition to a predetermined state, a bootblock which causes system activation from one of the first partition andthe second partition, and an active-partition switching program whichindicates, to the boot block, one of the first and second partitions;and an input/output system which is capable of activating theactive-partition switching program when a specific operation isperformed, wherein the active-partition switching program indicates tothe boot block that system activation is to be executed from the secondpartition.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of restoring a system on a storage medium in aninformation device to a predetermined state, the method comprisingproviding a first program on a first partition of the storage medium;providing a second program and data on a second partition of the storagemedium to restore the first program on the first partition to thepredetermined state; providing a boot block which causes systemactivation from one of the first partition and the second partition;providing an active-partition switching program which indicates, to theboot block, one of the first and second partitions; causing aninput/output system to activate the active-partition switching programwhen a specific operation is performed; and causing the active-partitionswitching program to indicate to the boot block that system activationis to be executed from the second partition.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Thefeatures and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained bymeans of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed outhereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, andtogether with the general description given above and the detaileddescription of the embodiments given below, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information device according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram for use in explanation of the relationship betweenthe hard disk and BIOS used in the information device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for use in explanation of the record positions ofthe boot block (MBR) and switching programs shown in FIG. 2 on the harddisk;

FIG. 4 is a diagram for use in explanation of the configuration ofpartition tables that the boot block (MBR) shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 has;and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the informationdevice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below withreference to the accompanied drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information device according to anembodiment of the present invention.

An information device 10 is implemented as, e.g., a portable personalcomputer. The information device 10 has a CPU (central processing unit)11, north bridge 12, memory 13, graphics card 14, display unit 15, PCI(Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus 16, south bridge 18, BIOS-ROM(Basic Input/Output System-Read Only Memory) 19, EC/KBC (EmbeddedController/KeyBoard Controller) 20, PSC (Power Supply Controller) 21,keyboard 22, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 23, and the like.

The CPU 11 controls the operation of the entire information device. Forexample, the CPU 11 executes data processing with respect to anotherdevice in the information device 10 and executes various kinds ofprograms.

The north bridge 12 has various kinds of controllers that executesbridge processing between the CPU 11 and the south bridge 18, control ofthe memory 13, control of the graphics card 14, and the like.

The memory 13 is provided as the work area of the CPU 11. At theactivation of the information device 10, the BIOS stored in the BIOS-ROM19 is loaded into this memory 13 and runs under the control of the CPU11. After the BIOS has been activated, the OS (Operating System) andvarious application programs are loaded into the memory 13 and operateunder the control of the CPU 11.

The graphics card 14 is connected with the north bridge 12 through anAGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) to control data that is to be displayedon the display unit 15.

The display unit 15 displays various types of information in accordancewith signals sent from the graphics card 14.

The PCI bus 16 is connected between the north bridge 12 and the southbridge 18. A plurality of PCI devices can connected to the PCI bus 16.

The south bridge 18 is connected to the north bridge 12 through the PCIbus 16. The south bridge 18 is also connected to the BIOS-ROM 19 and theEC/KBC 20 through an LPC bus or the like. The south bridge 18 hasvarious kinds of controllers to control the individual devices. Thesouth bridge 18 also has an IDE controller that controls the HDD 23connected through an IDE (Integrated Device Electronics) connector.

The BIOS-ROM 19 stores a BIOS that mainly executes control related tohardware at the time of activating the information device 10. The BIOSof this embodiment incorporates a logic that detects, through the EC/KBC20, whether a specific key (for example, the numeric entry key “0”) hasbeen pressed when the power is applied to the information device 10(i.e., when the power switch is turned on). The subsequent procedurevaries according to the result of detection. These procedures will bedescribed later.

The EC/KBC 20 is formed by integrating an EC serving as an embeddedcontroller and a keyboard controller (KBC). The embedded controller (EC)outputs a power ON/OFF instruction to the power supply controller (PSC)21 in accordance with the power supply state of the information device(main memory) 10 (e.g., the ON/OFF state of a power switch SW). Thekeyboard controller (KBC) controls the keyboard 22 connected to it.

The power supply controller (PSC) 21 ON/OFF-controls power supplynecessary for each element in the information device 10 in accordancewith the instruction from the embedded controller (EC).

The keyboard 22 is connected to the keyboard controller (KBC) in theEC/KBC 20 and used by the user to execute key input operation.

The HDD 23: incorporates a hard disk serving as a magnetic storingmedium. The HDD 23 is connected to the south bridge 18 through an IDEconnector.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for use in explanation of the relationship betweenthe hard disk and BIOS used in the information device of FIG. 1.

The hard disk 231 is a magnetic recording medium built in the HDD 23.The hard disk 231 is stored with a boot block 31 called a master bootrecord (MBR) and an active-partition switching program (hereinaftersimply referred to as a switching program) 32. On the recording surfaceof the hard disk 231 are defined a first partition 33 that stores asystem (software) which is activated in normal processing and a secondpartition 23 that stores a system used in recovery (or restoration)processing.

The boot block 31 is capable of, when invoked (activated) by either ofthe BIOS 191 and the switching program 32, recognizing the activepartition (the first partition 33 or the second partition 34) referringto its own partition table (to be described later), and activating asystem from that active partition.

The switching program 32 is capable of, when invoked (activated) by theBIOS 191, executing a setting process to activate a system from thesecond partition 34 not from the first partition 33 on the partitiontable of the boot block 31, and then invoking (activating) the bootblock. Though one switching program 32 is shown in FIG. 2, it is allowedto copy this switching program and distribute a plurality of switchingprograms 32 including spare ones.

The first partition 33 corresponds to an area used by the user. Innormal processing, an ordinary operating system (OS) that is stored inthe first partition 33 is activated.

The second partition 34 corresponds to a backup area. This partition hasa recovery (or restoration) program and backup data for restoring asystem on the first partition 33 to its initial state (for example, thestate at the time when it is shipped) and is used in recovery (orrestoration) processing.

The first partition 33 is set up as a normal partition (user-visiblearea), whereas the second partition 34 is set up as a normal partitionor hidden partition (user-invisible area).

The BIOS 191 is one that is stored in the BIOS-ROM 19. When detecting aspecific key on the keyboard 22 being pressed at the same time the poweris applied to the information device 10 (i.e., the power switch isturned on), the BIOS 191 invokes (activates) the switching program 32 tocarry out recovery processing. If the specific key is not pressed (hasnot been pressed) when the power is applied to the information device10, the BIOS invokes (activates) the boot block 31 to carry out thenormal processing.

Here, the flow of the normal processing and the flow of the recoveryprocessing will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

<Normal Processing>

N1: When the user usually turns on the power to the information device10, the BIOS 191 is activated usually. The activated BIOS 191 executessetting process related to hardware and thereafter activates the bootblock 31 as a normal operation.

N2: In the partition table of the boot block 31, the first partition 33is normally indicated to be the active partition. Thus, the boot block31 activated by the BIOS 191 activates a system from the first partition33.

<Recovery Processing>

R1: When the user turns on the power to the information device 10 whilepressing the specific key on the keyboard 22 in order to make systemrecovery, the BIOS 191 is activated. At this time, the BIOS 191 detectsthe depression of the specific key at the same time the power isapplied. As a result, the BIOS 191 executes setting process related tohardware and thereafter produces a predetermined signal to activate theswitching program 32.

R2: The switching program 32 activated by the BIOS 191 stores settinginformation for system activation from the second partition 34 in thepartition table of the boot block 31 and then activates that boot block.

R3: The boot block 31 activated by the switching program 32 activates asystem from the second partition 34 because the partition tableindicates that system activation is to be executed from the secondpartition 34.

R4: The restoration program on the second partition 34 restores thesystem on the first partition 33 to its initial state utilizing backupdata.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for use in explanation of the record positions ofthe boot block (MBR) and the switching program shown in FIG. 2 on thehard disk

As shown, the MBR (boot block) is recorded on the first sector (onesector) of the hard disk. The MBR on the first sector is accessed by theBIOS at the time of normal processing. The MBR contains the partitiontable.

The same switching programs including spare ones (one switching programfor one sector) are recorded distributed between, for example, thetwenty-first and sixty-first sectors. At the time of recoveryprocessing, the BIOS makes a search of the switching programs insequence beginning with the twenty-first sector. Once one switchingprogram is detected correctly, it is activated. Each switching programcontains a signature that indicates its source and an error detectingchecksum (one byte) as required.

The sector (first sector) on which the MBR is recorded is an areaunavailable for other purposes. It is therefore unable to record theswitching program in this area. The second to twentieth sectors are anarea which is likely to be used as a work area used in replacing thecurrent operating system with its latest version. If the switchingprogram were recorded in this area, it might be erased by beingoverwritten with another data. Thus, this area is not to be recordedwith the switching program.

Recording of the same switching program in two or more sectors as shownin FIG. 3 provides an advantage of improved reliability of recoveryprocessing. That is, even when some switching programs become disabledfrom being detected due to some cause, at least one program can bedetected, then proper processing will be achieved.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for use in explanation of the configuration ofpartition tables that the boot block (MBR) shown in FIGS. 2 and 3contains.

As shown, the MBR is provided, for each individual partition defined onthe hard disk, with a table that contains boot information(active/inactive), ID, type (normal/hidden), and size.

Concerning the boot information, for example, “80h” is set for activepartition and “00h” is set for Inactive partition. Concerning the type(attribute), for example, “0Ch” is set for normal partition and “1Ch” isset for hidden partition.

In FIG. 4, an area to record four partition tables 1 to 4 is reserved.In the present embodiment, however, since only two partitions areprovided (See FIG. 2), only two corresponding partition tables 1 and 2are used without using partition tables 3 and 4.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described withreference to a flowchart of FIG. 5.

First, a determination is made by the BIOS 191 as to whether a specifickey (for example, the numeric key “0”) has been pressed when the poweris applied to the information device (steps S1 and S2).

When the specific key has not been pressed, control is transferred tothe boot block (MBR) 31. When the specific key has been pressed, on theother hand, control is transferred to the switching program 32, and theswitching program then executes the setting to change the secondpartition 34 to an active partition (and to change the first partition33 to an inactive partition) (step S3), and executes the setting tochange the second partition 34 to a normal partition (step S4). Thesettings (changes to the partitions) are retained in the partition tablein the boot block 31 by the switching program 32 (step S5) and controlis then transferred to the boot block (MBR) 31.

The boot block (MBR) 31 searches the partition table for an activepartition (step S6) and loads an initial program loader (IPL) to boot anOS from that active-partition (step S7).

In the normal processing, since the first partition 33 is set as anactive partition, an OS is activated from the first partition 33 (stepS8). In the recovery processing, on the other hand, since the secondpartition 34 is set as an active partition, the restoration program inthe second partition 34 is activated.

The restoration program asks the user through the display unit 15 toconfirm that he or she wants to recover (initialize) the first partition33 (step S9) and then, if he or she wants, restores the system on thefirst partition 33 to its initial state using backup data (step S10).

After the system on the first partition 33 has been restored to itsinitial state in step S10 (or when recovery (initialization) is notperformed in step S9), the restoration program returns the firstpartition 33 to the active partition (and returns the second partition34 to the inactive partition) (step S11), and returns the secondpartition 34 to the hidden partition (step S12). These changes to thepartitions are reflected in the partition table in the boot block 31 bythe restoration program and the system is reactivated (step S13). Atthis time, since the first partition 33 has been returned to the activepartition state, the normal OS will be activated after systemreactivation.

The processing in step 10 and the processing in steps S11 and S12 may beinterchanged.

The present embodiment provides the following advantages:

(1) Since a program and backup data for restoring a system on the firstpartition to its initial state are stored on a hard disk, the system canbe restored to its initial state without using removable externalstorage media such as CD-ROM.

(2) Since a program and backup data for restoring a system on the firstpartition to its initial state are stored on a hard disk, the system canbe restored to its initial state anytime and anywhere without carryingremovable external storage media such as CD-ROM.

(3) An ordinary boot block complying with an OS can be used since theactive-partition switching program is stored in an area different fromthe boot block. In addition, the same switching program can be used evenif the type of OS is changed.

(4) Since the active-partition switching program is stored in an areadifferent from the boot block, there occurs no problem even if the bootblock is changed by update of the OS.

(5) Since an ordinary boot block complying with an OS can be used, itwill not be detected in error by an anti-virus program.

(6) Since the pressing of the specific key is detected by the BIOS andthe like, not using the ordinary boot block complying with the OS,modification for such detection is not needed to the boot block.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.For example, although the embodiment uses a personal computer as anexample of an information device, this is not restrictive. When cellularphones including the Personal Handyphone System (PHS) and personaldigital assistants (PDAs) become enabled to incorporate a writablestorage medium, such as a hard disk, that can store a system such as anOS, the present invention will be applicable to these cellular phones,etc. In particular, by applying the present invention to an informationdevice, such as cellular phones, PDAs, etc., which are easy for users touse while carrying, an advantages arises in that the system can berestored to its normal state anytime and anywhere.

According to the present invention, it is possible to restore aninternal system to its initial state without using external storagemedia such as CD-ROM.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects isnot limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shownand described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventiveconcept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

1-18. (canceled)
 19. A computer comprising: a processor; an inputdevice; a hard disk drive (HDD) comprising a hard disk, the hard diskcomprising a first storage area, a second storage area, a third storagearea, and a boot block storage area, the HDD storing, in the firststorage area, an operating system (OS) to be executed by the processor,the HDD storing, in the second storage area, data for use in restoringthe OS to a predetermined state for system recovery, and storing, in thethird storage area, restoration software to execute processing torestore the OS to the predetermined state for system recovery by usingthe data, and the HDD storing, in the boot block storage area, a bootblock having information indicating which storage area is active; and astorage section storing a program that is allowed to be activated when aspecific instruction for system recovery is detected and to cause anactivation of the restoration software, the information of the bootblock being changeable according to an indication of the program. 20.The computer according to claim 19, wherein the storage section storingthe program is provided in a storage area which is different from thefirst to third storage areas.
 21. The computer according to claim 19,wherein the storage section further stores a copy of the program. 22.The computer according to claim 19, wherein the information of the bootblock is changeable so that system activation is executed from thesecond or third storage area.
 23. The computer according to claim 19,wherein after having restored the OS for system recovery, theinformation of the boot block is changeable so that the first storagearea becomes active and each of the second and third areas becomesinactive.
 24. A computer comprising: a processor; an input device; ahard disk drive (HDD) comprising a hard disk, the hard disk comprising afirst storage area, a second storage area, and a third storage area, theHDD storing, in the first storage area, an operating system (OS) to beexecuted by the processor, the HDD storing, in the second storage area,data for use in restoring the OS to a predetermined state for systemrecovery, and storing, in the third storage area, restoration softwareto execute processing to restore the OS to the predetermined state forsystem recovery by using the data; and a storage section storing aprogram that is allowed to be activated when a specific instruction forsystem recovery is detected and to cause an activation of therestoration software, wherein the storage section storing the program isprovided in a storage area which is different from the first to thirdstorage areas.
 25. The computer according to claim 24, wherein thestorage section further stores a copy of the program.
 26. A computercomprising: a processor; an input device; a storage device comprising afirst storage area, a second storage area, a third storage area, and aboot block storage area, the storage device storing, in the firststorage area, an operating system (OS) to be executed by the processor,the storage device storing, in the second storage area, data for use inrestoring the OS to a predetermined state for system recovery, andstoring, in the third storage area, restoration software to executeprocessing to restore the OS to the predetermined state for systemrecovery by using the data, and the storage device storing, in the bootblock storage area, a boot block having information indicating whichstorage area is active; and a storage section storing a program that isallowed to be activated when a specific instruction for system recoveryis detected and to cause an activation of the restoration software, theinformation of the boot block being changeable according to anindication of the program.
 27. The computer according to claim 26,wherein the storage section storing the program is provided in a storagearea which is different from the first to third storage areas.
 28. Thecomputer according to claim 26, wherein the storage section furtherstores a copy of the program.
 29. The computer according to claim 26,wherein the information of the boot block is changeable so that systemactivation is executed from the second or third storage area.
 30. Thecomputer according to claim 26, wherein after having restored the OS forsystem recovery, the information of the boot block is changeable so thatthe first storage area becomes active and each of the second and thirdareas becomes inactive.
 31. A computer comprising: a processor; an inputdevice; a storage device comprising a first storage area, a secondstorage area, and a third storage area, the storage device storing, inthe first storage area, an operating system (OS) to be executed by theprocessor, the storage device storing, in the second storage area, datafor use in restoring the OS to a predetermined state for systemrecovery, and storing, in the third storage area, restoration softwareto execute processing to restore the OS to the predetermined state forsystem recovery by using the data; and a storage section storing aprogram that is allowed to be activated when a specific instruction forsystem recovery is detected and to cause an activation of therestoration software, wherein the storage section storing the program isprovided in a storage area which is different from the first to thirdstorage areas.
 32. The computer according to claim 31, wherein thestorage section further stores a copy of the program.